Dough forming apparatus



June 9, 1931. N. PRos DOUGH FORMING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 192'? ZSheetS-Sheet l nuanfov Naud 'Proo's fmfwam June '9, 1981. N PROOS 1,808,788

DOUGH FORMING APPARATUS Patented June 9, 1931 NEAL ZPRJOOS, OIF-.GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN DOUGH FORMING APPARATUS Application led lMay 17, 1927. Serial No. 191,995.q

This invention'relates to so-called cookie dies or devices used by bakers for forming the dough for fancy cookies and for cookies made from dough of two or more kinds or colors.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a device of this character which, by interchanging of parts, may be used to form 'fancy cookies of different shapes all of onel kind or color of dough orthe same variety of shapesvin different kinds or colors of dough, and the device is so constructed and arranged that the same forming die may be used with one kind of dough or with a plurality of kinds. The device is so constructed that its component parts may be easily disassembledfor interchanging and for thorough cleaning and the device is simply vand strongly constructed andis provided with various other novel features of construction and arrangement as will more fully appear by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device used for forming fancy cookies of a single kind of dough.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged substantially full size sectional elevation of the bottomportion of the same.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of a plate for forming a different shaped cookie.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the bottom portion of the device used for forming cookies of two kinds of dough, in which the die plate illustrated by Fig. 4 is used.

Fig. 6 is the same view as Fig. 5 with the detachable parts removed.

Fig. 7 is 'a perspective view of the detachable parts.

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a cookie formed of two kinds of dough with this mahine using the die plate shown in Figs. 4 and Fig. 10 is a cookie made ofa single kind of dough using the die plate shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The invention conc'eives the use of a flexdetachable die ible fabric bag 1 open atits top to receivev the dough after which the top of the bag is` closed, preferably by holding it so by the hands of the operator, and the dough is eject` ed through the die plate attached to the bottom of the bag by squeezing or twisting the bag. To make a cookie of a single kind. of dough the `bag has an annular base 2 attached to its lower end in a suitable man. ner suchlas by awire ring drawn tightly around the bag and into a groove in thebase- The base is provided with. leg portions4 which space it a short distance above the' board on which thecookies are-t0 be formed and bayonet slots, 5, preferably three in num? ber, are provided in the base to receive the prongs 6 and 6a of the detachable die plate located in the base and spaced above the bot-v toms of the legs 4. The prong-6.a is wider4 y than the prong 6 and the bayonet slot to rev ceive it is correspondingly wider thanythe other bayonet slot 5 whereby the die plate may be inserted into the base in only one position. This feat-ure is not of importance when forming a'cookie of a .single kind of 75 dough but is necessary when the same die plate is used to form a cookie of different kinds of dough as will hereafter be described.

Various shapes of cookies may be formed with this device by means of various dies which are interchangeable in the base, each having the same diameter and corresponding prongs 6 and 6a. The cookies formed by this device are usually, though not necessarily, of substantial annular shape, the annulus .85 being formed by a plurality of mounds of dough ejected through the die and merging together by virtue of the plastic or semi-fluid quality of the dough. The die 7 has eight tubular members extending downwardly from it, the lower end of each being inclined and provided with a slot through which the dough is ejected and forms eight rounded top mounds which merge together into the annular cookie shown by Fig. 10. The die 9 5 8 has six star shaped openings through which the dough escapes to form the pointed mounds mergin together into the annular cookie'- shown y Fig. 9. It is obvious that a great variety of `dies may be provided'to form various shapes of cookies and that each die may besimilar in diameter and have similar prongs so that each may be received in the ase - To make 'a cookie of more than one kind of dough `or one in which the different mounds are of different kinds of dough, the

Y' divided bag is used, having a fabric partition 1b and to the bottom of this ba the base 9 is attached whichv has legs 4' an bayonet slots 5 similar to those of the base 2.

The base 9 is longer than the base 2 and has lan 'annular inner shoulder 10 near its upper end and a fixed artition 11 extending' across its diameter, the' in the same plane as the shoulder 10. The upper edge of the partition 11 is adapted to receive the lower edgeof the fabric partition 1bl of the bag.

vThe result desired is to produce a cookie inv whicheach' Kalternate mound is of a difierent kind of color of dough and to do this .it

is necessary to establish a communication y from one side of the partition of the bag with alternate openings of the die and form l the outer side of the bag to the remaining alternate openings thereof. This directing of the dough is accom lished by providing a dividingplate 12 which is inserted in the base against the shoulder 10 and is properly located in the base by .a notch 13 in its periph- -ery which receives `a ton e 14 on the base. A Apassagethrough the p ate 12 is provided near its eriphery,or to be exact, a portion of its rip ery is cut away at 15 at one side of its ameter which lies at one side of the partition v11 and openings 16 are provided in the plate near its center on the opposite side of its diameter which lies at the opposite side ofthe partition 11. vThe prong 17 is lleft extending from `the periphery to engage .the

shoulder 10 to support the plate at this point. v

vA circular chambered member 18 is located below'the dividing plate 12, its outer circumference being smaller than the cutaway ortion 15 of the periphery of the plate an its chamber communicating with the opening 16 in the plate. A spacin member 19 is llocated below the chambere member 18 and is in engagement with the die plate 8 beneath it. This spacing member is shaped to cover each alternate opening in the die 'plate and, when used with the die plate 8 which has six openings, it has three radial extensions to cover the three alternate openings in the die plate.

Each of these radial extensions or covering` portions has an opening 19a communicating with its respective die vplate opening and the chambered member 18 has a corresponding and communicating opening 18a for each opening in the spaclng member.

j When assembled the various parts are properly located relative to each other, first the lplate 12 by the notch 13 ittin over the tongue 14 1n thev baseand the p ate 12 has ber respectively.

ower edge of which is 4equal size,

downwardly extending studs 20 which extend through corresponding holes 21 and 22 in the chambered member and spacing mem- The die plate holds all of these members in assembled position by its prongs 6 and 6a in thev bayonet slots 6 in the base, being the various mem ers by virtue of its one wide pron 6a and the corresponding wide bayonet s ot previously described. l

y Referring to Figs. 5 and 8 which show the properly located relative toassembled device it will be seen that communication is had from the left hand side of the bag through-the openings 16 in the plate 12 into the chambered member 18 and through the openings 18a in its bottom andthe openings 19a in-the spacing member 19'to each j of the three alternate die openings while communication from the right hand side of the bag is had through the cut away portion 15 of the plate 12 near its peripheryaround the outside of the chambered member 18 and the spacing member 19 to the remaining alternate openings in the plate not covered by the spacing member. It will therefore be seen 'that pressureupon the bag causes the dough from the left hand side to flow through the openings 16 in the plate into the chambered member 18 where it spreads` and finds outlet through the spacing member 19 and the die openings with which the openings v19a communicate while the dough from the right hand side of the bag passes by the periphery of the plate 12v outside of the chambered member 18 and spreads within the base 9 and is ejected through those opeinngs in the die plate not covered by the spacing member 19.

By virtue of the resistance of the dou h to ow into the more remote partsvof t e passages it has been found that there would be atendency for the mounds to be of unthose 'nearer'the opening into the bag being larger than those more remote therefrom. To overcome this objectionable feature the passage Ways leading to the die openings nearer the openings into the respective sidesof the bag have been restricted. The openings 18a and 19a through the vchambered member 18 and the spacing mem- -all of the die plate openings is substantially equalized so that the mounds ejected therel from will be uniform in size.

The chambered member ing member 19 have been described as separate members because it is more expedient to manufacture them separately, but it is pos- 18 and the spacmg a variety of shapes ot' cookies from either a single kind of dough or from two kinds of dough consists of a single bag 1 'with its base 2, a divided bag la with its base 9,a dividing plate 12 and a plurality of die plates, each with a corresponding pair ot' chambered and spacing members 18 and 19. With an outfit of this kind the die plates may be used interchangeably in the base 2 to form cookies of a single kind of dough and the same die plates used with their corresponding chambered and spacing members may be used interchangeably in the base 9 to form the cookies of different kinds of dough. All of the chambered members are made to iit against the dividing plate 12 which is not duplicated.

An advantage of this invention is that` a baker may desire at iirst to make only cookies vof a single kind of dough, in which case he Will purchase the bag 1 with the base 2 and a variety of die plates, but if he later desires to make cookies of 'more than one kind of ldough it is not necessary for him to purchase other die plates but he merely needs the divided bag 12 with the base 9 and the dividing plate l2 and the proper chambered and dividing members 18` and-191to correspond with the die plates which he already has and his outfit Will thus be completed.

The device is easily disassembled by a partial turn 'of the die platevvhich releases its prongs from the bayonet slots and removal of the die plate releases the chambered and spacing members and the dividing plate and they may then all be taken apart for thorough cleaning. This ease of disassembling is particularly advantageous for interchanging of parts. The device is so designed that its structure is relatively simple and it is very die plate having a plurality of openings and l detachably secured to the container, a shoulder on the container, means separable from the container and from the die plate and retained in the container against said shoulder by the die plate lfor directing the dough from one side thereof to certain openings in the die plate, and from the other side to other openings in the die plate, means associated With said container and said directing means for positioning them relative to each other, and means for ejeeting the dough from the container through the die plate.

2. A dough forming apparatus comprising, a divided .container to receive dough, a die tainer to a certain plurality of the openingsl 4 in the die plate, and from the other side of .the container to other openings in the die plate` means for restricting the passa-ge of dough to certain ot the plurality of openings in the die plate :ted from one side of the container, and means for ej ccting dough from the container.

3. A dough forming apparatus comprising. a divided container, having a plurality of bayonet slots, one being Widerthan the others', a die plate having a plurality of openings and a plurality of prongs to enter said bayonet slots, one being Wider than the other, Whereby the die plate is located and detachably secured to the container, a dividing plate removably located in the container and having a plurality of openings, each communicating with a respective side ot the container, means for locating the dividing plate relative to the container, ,a chambered member interposed between kthe die plate and the dividing plate and` separable from both of them, its chamber communicating with one of the openings -of the dividing plate and With certain of the openings` in the die plate, interengaging means between the dividing plate and the chambered member for locating the chambered member, and means Jfor ejecting dough :tromv the container.

4. A dou-gh forming apparatus comprising a divided container, a removable dividing plate in the container having openings communicating With opposite sides thereof, means adjacent and-separate Jfrom ,said dividing plate for directing dough from one opening in the dividing plate to certain openings in a die plate and for directing dough from the other opening in the dividing plate to certain other openings of the die plate, a die plate havin-g a plurality of openings detachably secured to said container and engaging said directing means to hold the directing means against the dividing plate and to hold the dividing plate in the container and means for ejecting dough from the container.

5. A dough forming apparatus comprising, a divided container, a shoulder on said container, a removable dividing plate in said container enga-ging said shoulder and having openings communicating with opposite sides of the container, directing means adjacent aov said dividing plate having passages for dipressing it a ainst the dividing plate and thereby presslng said dividing plate against said shoulder ,and means for ejecting dough l i y from` the container. i Y

6. .A dough-,forming apparatus comprising, a dividedcontainer having a shoulder, a 'i removable d1v1d1ng plate 1n the v contalner bearing against said shoulder and having openings communicating with opposite sides v' i of the container, means 'for positioning the dividing plate relative-to the container, a

se arable directing means engaging said divi ing plate and having` passages to direct dough from one opening of the dividing plate to certain openings of a die plate an means for positioning the directing means relativeto the dividing plate, a die plate havl ing a plurality of openings detachably se-v p 'cured t0 thecontainer and bearing against the directing means to hold itin engagement withthe dividing plate and to hold,

the dividing plate against s said shoulder, means for positioning the die plate relative t0 the container, and means for ejecting doughV from the container.

7 A dough forming apparatus comprising, a container to receive dough, a die plate removably attachedto said container and having a plurality of openings, a directing member having a passage to direct the dough from said container to said plurality of openings inthe die plate and means for restricting the passage of dough to certain of the openings in the die plate without restricting the respective openings in t-he die plates.

vIn testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

NEAL PROOS.

rom` v the other opening of the dividing plate to certain other o enings of the die,v plate, 

